Lucent Saccharyn, Head Gamemaker:
Tonight, Iris is absent from the set, and Jack Cannon is alone as he waits behind the closed curtain in all his bewigged and bejeweled glory. Jessiah is checking up on the tributes. He's making sure everyone is present, lined up correctly, and in appropriate outfits. In times of calm, when there is no threat of rebellion, the Head Peacekeeper functions sort of like a Deputy, or perhaps Vice, President. He spends most of his days conferring with Gil, who placed him in charge of managing the tributes this year since no threats are on the horizon. He's been doing a pretty good job of it, too. Once again, he, Gil, and I are in a box of honor, but this one is an elevated balcony near the back of the hall.
Jess gives the go-ahead, and right on cue, strobe lights click on and swirl around Jack Cannon as the curtain parts and draws upward. Jack begins with a few opening comments before inviting up the first tribute to be interviewed. All twenty-four of them have likely been practicing most of the day for this moment, and I hope both for their sake and my own reputation that they perform beautifully. They're well versed in etiquette, inflection, and mannerisms. They've also each prepared an angle, whether it be arrogant, mysterious, or sassy, and have answered mock questions given by their mentors and escorts. The interviews always proceed in district order, and the females go before the males. That means the first tribute to make an impression will be… "Our District One Female, Livi Carnelian!" Jack practically shouts. Livi is in a beautiful navy-blue trumpet dress that flares outward at the knee, and it makes her look haughtier than ever.
"Oh Jack, thank you so much for having me today. My time in the Capitol has been so incredible, thanks in part to all of the lovely folks here–" She takes a moment to wave at the crowd. "–And I'm almost sorry to have to leave it tomorrow."
"We will miss you just as much, Livi," Jack says soberly. "Tell me, with your training score of Twelve, are you confident in your safe return?"
"Absolutely. I'll put every resource I get my hands on to good use, and I'll become the Victor. Anything else is simply inconceivable. Besides wanting the crown, I'd hate to disappoint you all. You're practically family, now, we know each other so well!" She plays up the loyal aspect, and the audience is falling love with her already. They're very pleased when she compliments the Capitol, and sad when she departs. Oscar and Eliza have similar interviews to one another, reminding everyone of their determination to win, but it's nothing to write home about. Rafe is another interesting tribute. He's using the traditional cocky Career strategy, which matches well with his imposing physique and good looks. During his interview, he spends most of the time bragging about himself, which satiates the crowd's appetite with the promise of bloodlust.
Pola, surprisingly, does quite well with her interview. She's going for a mysterious angle, and speaks about her schooling back in District Three and how it might help her in the arena. She also cautions the audience against dismissing the quieter tributes, warning that sometimes their slyness can help them outwit and outmaneuver everyone, even Careers. Teasing them, she tells the people in the hall that she's the tribute most destined for Victory because she can play the Games in new ways and won't bore them with the same piteousness they see every year. She's reeling in the sponsors for sure, and wins a huge round of applause when her three minutes elapse. Soren does as poorly as expected, making snarky quips about the clothes and hairdos of the people he's encountered. A few individuals seem to be finding him funny, but most are obviously disgusted by his insults. Nobody's sad when he shuffles off the sage, having accomplished absolutely nothing in his interview.
District Four is up next, with Lyra-Rose Ripley, who seems far more happy about her bright pink dress and high heels than she does about actually answering Jack's questions. When she does get on track, she leaps off the rails at once, launching into a rant about how nobody appreciates her and everyone, including me, is just jealous and trying to tear her down. Een her most fervent supporters look at her a bit oddly, wondering where this sudden outburst came from. Nobody enjoys her, but that only further amplifies her district partner Ardledge's success. He spouts off a series of the worst puns I've ever heard,but people are smiling, only displaying a tiny bit of exasperation. Ardledge is also okay with a little self-deprecating humor, and he shares a laugh with the crowd over his bright yellow shoes, which are shaped like duck fins to symbolize his affiliation with swimming and the water, being from District Four. He speaks about his fiancée Winnie and son Adrian for a brief moment, then compliments the Capitol's fluffy bedding, which is definitely more luxurious than anything he's encountered before. He uses it as a segway on his last joke ("You know what, I'm so good at sleeping I can do it with my eyes closed!") before leaving the stage, and there's a hearty round of applause for his humor.
District Five is nothing special. Both performances are above average, but lack anything memorable to make them stand out. Thys is trying out a new voice. Of course, none of the people in the audience have heard her speak yet, so it doesn't matter, but she successfully uses the sweet, soft tone to counteract the effects of her bulky appearance and sharp steel-gray pantsuit. Ryan says a nice goodbye to someone named Anthony, who is perhaps a good friend or a romantic partner, and uses some vaguely punkish language, but largely fails to do anything unexpected. The Capitolites do seem to love his dyed hair,though. Dyed hair isn't uncommon in District Five, and every couple years, it happens that one of the tributes from there will be sporting an unusual color. It unintentionally gives him an air of Capitol loyalty, since it almost mimics the Capitol styles (mohawks and fauxhawks are in this year, so his timing is perfect). Neither performance generates any interest that wasn't already there, but District Six is a different story.
The girl, Amiee, gains a little support. Cuter, younger tributes tend to do well in the interviews if they act innocent and sweet, but Amiee manages to fold in a little sarcasm as well. "How has your time here been so far?" asks Jack.
"It's been horrible, just like school. You said that I was gonna be pampered, now you're telling me I have to wake up at seven? I thought we weren't allowed to be tortured until we entered the arena!" This is actually a bit of a fib on her part, since I've read her file and she happens to openly enjoy school, but it successfully catches the attention of the crowd, especially the children. Nobody likes getting up early, and her attempt to relate to the crowd is a huge success, garnering plenty of laughs. She pulls off the deadpan humor without it coming off as mean, and it boosts her up a little. One thing I noticed about the boy, Quinten, is that he's terribly nervous when speaking to other people, and is likely to have even more problems in front of a crowd. I knew long before he came up onto the stage that it was going to be a difficult interview to sit through. He almost trips, and after sitting down, stumbles over his speech and repeats a few words here and there. He looks just one more slipup away from a mental breakdown, but Jack tries to help him out by doing most of the talking and wasting as much time as possible. Despite the awkwardness, some of the Capitolites seem to find his anxiousness endearing. It's stupid, insensitive, and downright cruel to coo over someone's near-panic attack, but people are beginning to whisper about sponsoring him, so there's at least some benefit to balance out the humiliation.
Jenna and Damon, both strong tributes, stay relatively lighthearted during their interviews, with Jenna talking about her newfound friendship with her allies and mentor, and Damon saying nice things about his mother and the food in the Capitol. I definitely get the impression that Damon's a mama's boy, but his love for his family clearly doesn't inhibit his fighting, if his private session was any indication. District Eight also passes quickly. Elle talks about what it was like to work in District Eight, but Harry went off on a tangent about how he's looking to fall in love so his grandmother can see him happy before she dies from her illness, and the whole thing was sentimental but really brought down the mood. None of the four interviews provoked a real change in audience interest.
Zea Poales decides to go for some mixture of sweet, sentimental, and sycophantic in order to manipulate the audience, which works like a charm. They fawn over her in droves. She talks about how she always had to work so hard in order to guilt trip them, talks about how she'll miss her new fans in order to draw in even more sponsors, and even talks about how she looks up to her allies in order to make herself seem extra generous and kind. One individual even tries to hop up on the stage and chase after her when her interview ends, and succeeds in grabbing the hem of her golden gown. He rips off a shred and offers to auction it off to the highest bidder. Jess directs his subordinates to remove the man from the hall, but the fanaticism is spreading. It almost overwhelms Radley, but not quite. He has a sort of 'home-grown farm boy from next door' feeling that gets him some sponsors of his own. Most of his time is spent talking about how much he loves his family, but he touches on love again at the very end when he mentions he thinks he has a secret admirer among his fellow tributes. He phrases it like a joke, but Quinten gives himself away by blushing redder than his tuxedo. I'm not sure how many people noticed, though, because there's quite the commotion when young Emily Parker comes onstage.
The reason I gave her such a high score was because she demonstrated every survival skill perfectly, every single one, including starting a fire in less than thirty seconds. It was highly impressive, and I thought she deserved to be recognized for that. All eyes are on her, since she's rocketed up in the betting rankings, and because the reasons behind her Seven are still unknown to them. Whether or not her cluelessness is an act, people seem to adore her instantly. Silky black pigtails, fluffy pink dress, she looks like the twelve year old that she is, and people sympathize with her immediately. She's much loved by all, and Trey's presence on the stage is a stark contrast. He does what Rafe succeeded at earlier, acting arrogant and Career-ish. He also makes it clear that he's a member of the Pack, and several people seem drawn to his strength and charisma.
District Eleven also has a surprise in store for us. Soya Orlando is acting borderline rebellious, mentioning how the Hunger Games preparation is stupid and she wants to go back to District Eleven, bad as it is. After monologuing about how crappy she thinks her mentor and escort are, she crosses her arms and refuses to say anything further. Griffin Jagger does his best to compensate for her poor showing by being loud and friendly, which doesn't do a ton for his sponsorship prospects, but does turn the night enjoyable again.
Sorrel Harding doesn't say much and is quite shy. Her only contributions come in the form of short, simple, yes or no answers to Jack's questions about her experience in the Capitol. She's looking more like a Bloodbath death every minute. Chip Maxen has the heavy burden of closing off the night and giving us all a good finale, but he bears it well. He's jovial and cheery, and mentions his little brother a lot, as well as sending a message directed at a specific teacher of his, in which he declares that he'll manage to become the Victor just so he never has to do homework again. Like Amiee's performance earlier, he's popular with the audience, and things are beginning to look up for him.
With the evening's celebrations coming to a close, the tributes are led back to their apartments, and I make my way back to my Gamemakers, who are toiling away only a few storeys above them. In twenty four hours, the national anthem will be playing as the faces of the deceased are projected in the arena, and I allow myself a smile.
Tomorrow, they will learn just how hard I've been working to make these games the best and most suspenseful in history.
Hey y'all!
Just so you know, I have two more chapters coming out today. One is the last night in the Capitol, the other is the morning of the Games themselves. I've been updating a ton this past week, but I have to go back to school tomorrow since spring break is over. I've been getting a ton of suggestions for the Bloodbath, which won't be able to work all of them in, but I'll do my best to get a good mix of predictable deaths and more surprising things. That will be posted on 18 April, but I'll have my next chapter up this afternoon!
– LC :)